Attachment for plates



1950 L. D. MARIOTTI 2,960,251

ATTACHMENT FOR PLATES Filed Feb. 18, 1957 INVENTOR.

1 LIV/m 2 Mmbm ATTACHMENT FOR PLATES Lillian D. Mariotti, '31-'Briarfield Drive, Stratford, Conn.

Filed Feb. 18, '1957, Ser. No. 640,702

1 Claim. (Cl. 220-2386) This invention relates to an attachment for holding a cup or the like vessel on a plate or other server, and, more particularly, to an attachment which prevents liquid from spilling onto the plate to mix with food thereon or to soil the bottoms of other cups or glasses on the server.

It has long been a problem in serving cocktails or snacks to provide a means whereby a cup or glass and a plate can be conveniently held in one hand.

Efforts to solve this long standing problem without resorting to expensive, especially designed, compartmented plates have consisted in skeleton attachments which are adapted to be secured to the edge of the plate of usual construction to engage the sides of the cup or glass and hold it in position thereon. These have had the disadvantage, however, of permitting the liquid which may be spilled from the cup or the like vessel or the condensate on the outside of a glass to run onto the plate and mingle with the food on the plate or soil the glasses on the server.

The present invention overcomes these difliculties by having an attachment which not only converts a usual plate into a cocktail or snack plate and holds a cup or the like vessel thereon, but also prevents spilled liquid or condensate from mingling with the food on the plate.

This is accomplished by forming the attachment with a coaster or saucer-like member having means to engage the cup or glass and hold it in position thereon and having the sides of the coaster or saucer-like member extend upwardly so as to catch and hold any liquid which may be spilled or condensate which might run down the sides of the vessel. Preferably, the saucer-like member is provided with means which can be snapped over the edge of the usual plate and hold the member in position to engage the upper surface of the plate so as to properly position the cup or the like thereon.

The attachment may be made of metal or plastic and is preferably formed as an integral structure. If desired, the mounting means for the saucer-like member can be provided with a resilient finger which, cooperating with the mounting means, forms a convenient napkin holder.

While the device of the present invention is primarily intended for use in connection with plates to convert them into a cocktail or snack plate, it can also be used in connection with serving trays and will hold the cups or glasses in position thereon and will prevent any liquid which may be spilled from running along the serving tray and into contact with other cups or glasses on the serving tray.

A feature of the invention resides in its simplicity of construction and in the ease with which it may be applied to a plate or server.

Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the specification and claim when considered in connection with the drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows a plan view of a plate with the attachment in position thereon.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along lines 2 2 'of nited States Patent Fig. 1, with the cup and napkin shown in dot and dash lines in position thereon.

Fig. 3 is an end view of the attachment showing the napkin holder.

The attachment 10 of the present invention is illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 as applied to the usual plate 11 having an upwardly and outwardly slanting outer edge portion 11a. The attachment comprises. a disk-like portion 12 adapted to rest on and overlie the bottom oil the plate and has means thereon spaced inwardly from the edges thereon to engage the bottom of a cup, glass or the like vessel :13 and hold it in supported position thereon. While the means may take the form of a raised rib or raised projection, in the herein illustrated form of the invention it comprises a depression 14 formed in the bottom of the disk-like portion. The edges 14a of the disk-like portion extending around the depression extend upwardly and produce, in effect, a coaster or saucerlike member which will eifectively hold the cup or glass in position thereon.

Preferably, the edges '15 of the saucer-like member or coaster slant upwardly and outwardly from the sides of the depression and will retain any reasonable quantity of liquid which may be spilled from the cup or catch any condensate which may run down the outside of a glass. If desired, the edges may be scalloped, as shown in Fig. 1, or otherwise decorated so as to have an attractive appearance.

The attachment of the present invention is secured to a plate in the herein illustrated form of the invention by means of an integral resilient strip 16 of substantial width and extending radially outwardly from the disk-like member and having a bend 17 at the outer end having a portion 17a which extends downwardly past the edge of the plate and a portion 17b which extends from the end of portion 17a upwardly and has a plate-engaging portion which engages the underside of the edge portion 11a. It will be seen that the strip and the portions of the bend at the outer end of the strip form a resilient clip 18 for gripping the edge portion 11a of the plate and securely hold the attachment in place thereon. If desired, the portion 17b can have a lip 17c tormed at the end to facilitate the insertion of the edge portion 111a into the clip. Preferably, the strip 16 is relatively broad so as to provide a secure grip on the edge of the plate.

In use the attachment of the present invention can be applied to any existing plate having an upwardly and outwardly slanting edge portion and will safely hold a glass or cup in position on the plate and will catch any liquid which might spill from the cup or condensate which might form on the glass and hold it trom passing onto the plate and mingling with the food on the plate.

While the attachment has been described in connection with a plate to convert it to a snack or cocktail plate, it is to be understood that it can also be effective- 1y used in connection with serving trays by being applied to the edges thereof so as to o verlie the tray. In this case it will hold glasses or the like in position against slipping on the tray during serving and will catch any spilled liquid or condensate and prevent it from contacting and soiling the bottoms of other glasses on the tray.

Because of its simple construction, the attachment of the present invention lends itself equally well to being made as a stamping from sheet metal or as a molded plastic part.

If desired, the strip 16 can be provided with a resilient finger 19 which extends along the portion 17a as shown in Figs. 2 and 3 and cooperates with the portion 17a to hold a napkin 20 or the like. This finger is preferably lanced out of the strip as shown in Fig. 3 and can be formed during the stamping operation or can be 7 formed during the molding of the attachment.

Variations and modifications may be made within the scope of the claim and portions of the improvements may be used without others. i f

I claim:

An attachment for a plate having a flat bottoml and an upwardly and outwardly slanting outer edge portion comprising a saucer-like member having a depression therein to engage the bottom and hold a cup or the like liquid-containing vessel in position thereon, said depression having a flat bottom surface to engage and be supported by the fiat bottom surface of the plate, and means comprising a flat resilient integral strip extending laterally from said member, said strip having the outer end thereof provided with a downwardly extending portion which terminates in an upwardly and inwardly extending portion to form a clip to extend over and under and grip the underside of said upwardly and outwardly slanting edge portion of the plate to secure said saucerlike member to said plate, said saucer-like member having portions extending above said depression to catch and hold any liquid which might spill or run down the sides of said cup or the like vessel, the downwardly bent portions of said strip having an integral resilient finger means projecting therefrom in position to clamp a napkin or the like to said strip to releasably hold the same in position thereon.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,151,923 Blackwell Aug. 31, 1915 1,229,226 Cary June 12, 1917 1,258,792 Lorimer Mar. 12, 1918 1,362,023 McCormick Dec. 14, 1920 2,095,817 Johnson Oct. 12, 1937 2,795,121 Pantello June 11, 1957 2,803,120 Wuerfel Aug. 20, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 527,078 France July 18, 1921 

